B-side "Guilty" Format 7" single Length 4:14 | Released 4 December 1984 Genre Rock | |
Recorded June 1983 – September 1984 at Konk Studios, London | ||
Do It Again is the first track from The Kinks's album, Word of Mouth.
Contents
Music and lyrics
"Do It Again", unlike the previous Kinks singles released from 1983 to 1984, is a hard rock track, very much in line with the musical qualities of the rest of the tracks on Word of Mouth. It is sung by Ray Davies, similarly to many other Kinks tracks. It opens with a single guitar chord, which many found reminiscent of the opening chord on A Hard Day's Night, and Davies voice is often echoed throughout the track. On the album To the Bone, two versions of the track appeared, one being an acoustic styled version of the track.
The lyrics of "Do It Again" have a simple theme of "get up and do it again."
Release and reception
"Do It Again" was the lead-off track from "Word of Mouth" as well as the second U.K. (and first U.S.) single from that album. The song peaked at #41 in America (and #4 on the U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks chart) and #91 in Canada. Prior to this release, however, the track was issued as a 12-inch single for promotional purposes on 1 November 1984. Sixteen days later, the track was performed on Saturday Night Live, along with "Word of Mouth". A promotional video, directed by Julien Temple for Nitrate Films, was filmed for the song, starring Ray Davies with Mick Avory making a small appearance (as well as cameos by Dave Davies, Jim Rodford, and Ian Gibbons in it. It also appeared on the compilation albums Come Dancing with The Kinks and To the Bone.
"Do It Again" was described as a "circular, synth-spiked minor hit", and praised as one of the few distinctive tracks from Word of Mouth by AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine. Rolling Stone said that the track "has a recognizable kick, with Dave's brisk uppercut fuzz chords counting off a spry 'Victoria' rhythm."
Other appearances
Aside from appearing in the film Click and advertisements for the 2013 edition of the Tour de France, the song was also the namesake for the film Do It Again, which was about reporter Geoff Edgers attempting to reunite The Kinks.